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A Novel Technique for Experimental Thermophysical Characterization of Phase-Change Materials

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Abstract

The major objective of this project is to use phase-change materials (PCMs) as integrated components in passive solar heat recovery systems. The suggested approach involves experimental investigations and characterization of the global behavior of a parallelepiped “material wrap” filled with the PCM. The experimental apparatus permits simultaneous measurements of heat fluxes and temperatures. It also allows imposing and measuring temperatures variations with respect to selected time scales between the two predominant faces of the sample. The instantaneous heat flux measurements allow the determination of the “apparent” or overall heat storage capacities and thermal conductivities of the PCM—in the solid and liquid states—and that of the latent heat of melting. Results were found to be very satisfactory.

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Abbreviations

T :

Temperature, °C

ΔT :

Temperature difference, °C

φ :

Density of heat flux, W · m−2

Q :

Total stored energy, J

C :

Specific heat, J · kg−1 · K−1

L :

Latent heat of melting, J · kg−1

e :

Thickness, m

k :

Thermal conductivity, W · m−1 · K−1

m :

Mass, kg

t :

Time, h

l:

Liquid state

s:

Solid state

melting:

Melting point

initial:

Initial

final:

Final

int:

Internal face of the envelope

ext:

External face of the envelope

samp:

Sample (brick) which includes the PCM and its envelope

1:

Measurement on the first side of the brick

2:

Measurement on the second side of the brick

pcm:

Phase change material

end:

At the end, in steady state

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Université Lille Nord de France, Lille, France

    Laurent Zalewski, Stéphane Lassue & Annabelle Joulin

  2. Université d’Artois, LGCgE, 62400, Béthune, France

    Laurent Zalewski, Stéphane Lassue & Annabelle Joulin

  3. Hautes Etudes d’Ingénieur (HEI), 59000, Lille, France

    Zohir Younsi

  4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, École de Technologie Supérieure, Université du Québec, Montréal, Canada

    Daniel R. Rousse

Authors
  1. Zohir Younsi
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  2. Laurent Zalewski
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  3. Stéphane Lassue
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  4. Daniel R. Rousse
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  5. Annabelle Joulin
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Correspondence to Stéphane Lassue.

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Younsi, Z., Zalewski, L., Lassue, S. et al. A Novel Technique for Experimental Thermophysical Characterization of Phase-Change Materials. Int J Thermophys 32, 674–692 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-010-0900-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10765-010-0900-z

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